The Obsession of ARES

The morning sun had barely risen, yet Amara Hayes dragged her bruised body through the iron gates of the Hayes mansion. Her steps were unsteady, her hair disheveled, clothes torn in places, and her swollen eyes glistened with unshed tears. To anyone watching, she looked like a woman who had just crawled out of hell.

The gate creaked shut behind her, the sound echoing like a cruel reminder of where she truly belonged-not in safety, not in comfort, but in a house that treated her worse than an outsider.

Her fingers trembled as she gripped the stair railing, desperate to escape into the solitude of her small room before anyone saw her. But fate was never that merciful to her.

"Where do you think you're sneaking off to?"

The voice, sharp and laced with venom, made her freeze. Before she could turn, a manicured hand yanked her back by the arm.

Smack!

The slap rang loudly across the marble hallway.

Amara's head whipped to the side, the sting searing her cheek. She blinked at her cousin, Melissa, standing before her with smug satisfaction. Melissa was the kind of woman who was almost pretty-her face plain without the thick layers of foundation and lipstick she relied on. But dressed in designer silk, every inch of her screamed vanity and spite.

"You slut," Melissa spat, her eyes glinting with hatred. "Do you enjoy throwing yourself at other people's men? My fiancé, of all people?"

The servants scattered around the hall gasped, their eyes darting to Amara with poorly masked disgust. Whispers rose like fireflies in the air-shameless, filthy, a disgrace.

Amara's lips parted in disbelief. "What are you-"

Another sharp sting cut her short.

Smack!

This time from the other side. Her aunt, Clarissa Hayes, had arrived without warning, her jeweled fingers raised in contempt. Clarissa was a tall, elegant woman with cold, calculating eyes. Her beauty had long since hardened into cruelty.

"How dare you show your face here, you wretched girl?" Clarissa's voice thundered. "You dare seduce your cousin's fiancé and then sneak back like a thief in the morning? Have you no shame?"

Amara staggered back, her chest heaving. Her eyes burned red, but not with tears-this time, it was fury.

"Seduce?" She scoffed, her laugh bitter, hollow. "Why don't you ask your precious daughter what really happened last night?"

Melissa's face darkened, but Amara's words spilled like poison.

"I was doing my job at the bar when she waltzed in with her oh-so-perfect fiancé. She sat there, mocking me, flaunting him like some prize. I ignored her, went to the bathroom, and when I came out-" Amara's voice cracked, her fists clenching. "-your dear future son-in-law cornered me. He tried to force himself on me."

The room grew tense. A servant gasped.

"You lie!" Melissa shrieked, her eyes wild. "You filthy liar! If that were true, why are you still standing here?"

Amara's lips trembled as she remembered-the weight of rough hands, the foul stench of alcohol, her frantic struggle, and then the shadows of strange men who dragged her out back. The way fists rained down on her until her body nearly gave way. Only the sound of a car screeching nearby had scared them off, giving her the chance to crawl away.

Her voice lowered, trembling with suppressed rage. "You sent those boys after me, Melissa. Didn't you? You wanted to teach me a lesson for something I never did."